From artificial intelligence and 3D anatomy technology to video game development and online scam prevention, Davenport University gave Tech Week Grand Rapids participants a firsthand look at how technology is changing the way people work, learn and protect themselves online.

Davenport hosted four events September 15-17 at its W.A. Lettinga Grand Rapids Campus as part of Tech Week Grand Rapids, an annual event organized by The Right Place to showcase technology and innovation throughout the greater Grand Rapids area.

“Events like this are a great opportunity to bring technology professionals, educators, students, and members of the community together and make some of these topics more accessible,” said Jeff Martin, computer information systems faculty at Davenport. “Cybersecurity in particular affects everyone now, not just people working in technology. I enjoyed being able to contribute to that conversation from both an educational and digital forensics perspective.”

The greater Grand Rapids area has been named among the Top 25 emerging high-tech markets in North America for high-tech talent by CBRE, second in high-tech job growth and eighth in high-tech wage growth, from 2023 to 2025.

The week began with the session Bridging the AI Velocity Gap, hosted by Davenport’s Institute for Professional Excellence. Rihana Msadek, senior AI/ML engineer at Google, joined the conversation about the growing gap between the rapid pace of artificial intelligence development and the ability of organizations and their employees to adopt and effectively use new technology.

The session focused on helping business leaders assess their organization’s readiness for AI and consider how workforce preparation, culture and planning can support successful adoption.

 

Davenport also showcased the role technology is playing in health care education with its Anatomage Demo: The Future of Anatomy Education session. Participants explored the human body using Anatomage’s 3D visualization technology, navigating structures ranging from bones and muscles to organs and body systems.

“We shared how we incorporate this technology into our classroom and lab at the Great Lakes Bay Campus,” said Katie Robinson, simulation lab and clinical coordinator at Davenport’s Midland Great Lakes Bay Campus. “Participants also had the opportunity to explore the virtual cadavers through an interactive activity on the tablets and experience the quizzing feature firsthand. This allowed them to see how Anatomage can be used as an engaging, hands-on learning tool for nursing students.”

 

That evening, the focus shifted to game development with the official launch of Ashlight: Undercroft, a mobile action-adventure game developed by Norfic Games, led by a Davenport professor, with contributions from Davenport students through internships.

Attendees had the opportunity to sit down and play the game, provide feedback, and enjoy an evening centered around indie game development.

Throughout the event, the developers also randomly awarded a variety of Ashlight: Undercroft promotional items, including gaming mouse pads, T-shirts, stickers and 3D-printed game characters. Pizza, snacks, and refreshments were available for everyone as well.

“Several Davenport students have contributed to Ashlight: Undercroft through internships with my indie game studio over the course of the project,” said David Krogmann, Norfic Games developer and computer science professor at Davenport.

“One student intern worked on the initial Alpha version of the game. Another contributed significantly to the Beta version and later continued working on the release version under contract. A former intern also returned to complete contract work on several art-related tasks for the game.

“Their contributions have been an important part of the game’s development and provided opportunities for students to work on a real commercial game project through multiple stages of production.”

The audience response to the game was incredibly positive, Krogmann said. “A project like this involves a lot of work from a lot of people, and seeing players finally sitting down and enjoying the finished game made all of that work worthwhile.”

 

Davenport concluded the week with the session Safe Online: Spotting Scams Before They Hit Home focused on practical internet safety and recognizing the types of scams people are encountering every day. The presenters discussed phishing emails, fraudulent text messages, social media scams, identity theft, account takeovers, marketplace fraud and the growing use of artificial intelligence in scams.

“One of the main messages was that you do not have to be a cybersecurity expert to better protect yourself,” said Martin. “Many successful scams depend on creating urgency, fear, excitement or some other emotional response that gets a person to act before stopping to verify what they are being told.”

Together, the four events highlighted the breadth of technology-related learning and expertise at Davenport, while giving the community opportunities to engage with emerging technologies beyond the classroom.

Davenport’s participation in Tech Week Grand Rapids is part of its broader focus on connecting students and community members with technology, industry and real-world experiences.

For more information on Davenport University’s college of technology, visit https://www.davenport.edu/academics/areas/technology